It’s the end of the year and its time to enjoy and be in the Christmas spirit. It’s not long until we get to enjoy the food and drinks to last to the New Years celebrations. It is one of our favourite times of the year here at Cross Accounting. The darker evenings are given a little colour with the neighbourhood Christmas lights. While this is the time of giving and enjoying yourself, we would like to remind you of the financial aspect over the festive period.

Without trying to put out a negative mood, we do want to address the reality of credit card bills and debt and the very high interest charges they carry.

We have been speaking to a number of liquidators in the last couple of months and all have mentioned that it is this time around were people use their credit cards or store cards the most. This would make sense as we get ready to buy gifts and as the High Street stores accommodate their opening hours for the Christmas rush.

A survey by uSwitch finds that Britons borrow an average of £452 each at Christmas. Heading in to the New Year, this can cause a bit of a problem for some.

It is perfectly fine to go out and spend for loved ones and friends, but please stick to your budget. You want to end 2018 on a high and have the best possible start for the New Year.   

Let’s start the New Year in the best way possible. With positivity and new inspirations to keep both your personal life and business life in prosperity for 2019.

We would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2019, from all at Cross Accounting Service.

Employing a new member of staff can be a scary thought for any employer even the most experienced ones. Will that person fit in with the team, can they do the job, what will they cost me.

It depends on what type of job you are trying to fill as to how strict you need to make the interview process.

A lower paid non responsible role might be at minimum wage whereas a manager or professionally experienced person might be at a much higher salary so you need to make changes as far as getting the right candidates to apply. Be clear from the outset what it is that you want. Do you need a full time or part time person, is the job permanent or casual.

Put together a job specification which will list all of the jobs and responsibilities the person has. Do they need specific qualifications to do the job.

A person specification this is where you are looking at the personality of the person, the experience that is required, what type of specific jobs are they essentially needed to be experienced in, to get a chance of an interview.

Grade every candidate with a score depending on how they fit with your specification above, it’s a little more time consuming but will quickly discard candidates who don’t fit your requirements.

The interview make a list of questions you need to ask and try and encourage the person in front of you to open up and talk about their experience. This will allow you a small insight into their personality.

If this is a role for an experienced or technical job, then give them a test as well as a person to person interview. I tend to do a test at the end of the interview when the candidate is all relaxed. They are more likely to be calm when you are in discussion with them.

Check references always, don’t take anyone on face value, and if you have other members of staff introduce the person at the interview. Other employees feedback is always helpful as at the end of the day they need to fit in with your already established team.

Give them a contract of employment this is required by law, even a casual member of staff is entitled to holiday pay.

An employee is controlled by the terms of their contract with you. You can allocate them any job that is within the remit of their employment.

They tend to be cheaper than a subcontractor but you are responsible for handing over their income tax and national insurance contributions. Plus Employers NI which is currently 13.8% above the lower rate earnings.

They are entitled to holiday pay

Entitled to pension under the new scheme automatic enrollment

There is more chance of loyalty from an employee as you are providing them with their main work

Outsourcing A Subcontractor

This can be useful if you only have a need for a small pocket of time for a particular project or contract. As you are not offering a permanent role.

They tend to be slightly more expensive than an employee as they are responsible for their own income tax and national insurance.

You can expect them to be able to do the task in hand as they are likely to be experienced in that particular field you are employing them for.

You do not control what they do, but should expect a reasonable level of professionalism and expertise.

They are not entitled to holiday pay or sick leave or pension.

They are likely to be working for other people so other than a commitment in a contract you might be waiting for work to be done.

Recruiting someone in this capacity should like employment be done on the basis that they will fit in with the team and that they can do the job effectively. They are not entitled to redundancy payment

This blog is intended for information purposes only, you may have your own suggestions.  Use this a guide only